Sopor
Given that drugs = special interest for me, I simply have to ramble about this. I’ve been thinking a lot about sopor slime recently...
Sopor comes, originally, from an enzyme in lime troll blood. (Meaning that in my headcanons they’re not extinct, they’re just busy being tranquilized and serving as sopor machines in hidden-away facilities. It’s a well-kept secret of the Empire’s. I’ll go into this some other time). The enzyme has this sort-of-soothing effect to it (which results in the stereotype that limes are very mellow), but it’s mixed with chemicals which enhance the effects but are also very harmful to health. This mixture is called sopor concentrate, or just sopor if you’re in a verbal hurry.
The concentrate is mixed with a gooey substance produced by the recuperaccoons themselves to dilute it and remove some of the harmful side effects. This is what’s called sopor slime, and what sensible trolls sleep in, although you can make stronger or weaker solutions. When sleeping in sopor slime they almost appear dead - they stop breathing and their heartbeat is suppressed. The slime gives them oxygen straight through their skin though (together with the substance itself ofc), so… trust me. They’re not dead.
Now for the stuff I’m so very interested in! Sopor has, often, been described as the troll version of weed, but given its function (and the fact that it’s a more intriguing substance), I’d rather compare it to troll heroin. It makes you feel warm, safe and fuzzy, removes anxiety and depression, and makes you kind of sleepy. If you’re nightmare-prone, yeah, removes those too. (There are purplebloods with psionic abilities specifically made for giving nightmares to lowerbloods. Y’know, chucklevoodoos. Thus they need stronger sopor solutions, ending up sort of woozy and compliant. Also they die earlier, because this stuff is NOT healthy. The conspiracy theorists are onto them.) From an outside perspective it might seem like all trolls are nightmare-prone when sleeping outside of sopor solutions, but it’s actually because the vast majority are so used to it that they don’t know how to deal with nightmares without them.
So as I’ve said, sensible trolls only sleep in it, and even then it’s just in its diluted form. However, eating sopor slime, or, Messiahs forbid, drinking concentrate, or even injecting it, is stronger, more addictive, more dangerous. Not saying skin absorption isn’t addictive as it is. Meaning, trolls who even miss out on one sopor sleeping night get headaches, chills, insomnia, delusions and behavior ranging anywhere from cranky to uncontrollably violent. (Sound like anybody we recognize?)
Substance use isn’t looked down upon in troll society, because it’s so fucking common. However, addiction is. Trolls who become dependant on substances are considered weak-willed and don’t get any professional help. Sopor addicts usually stand out in a crowd - they’re skinny, almost skeletal in some cases, with tired, vacant eyes and teeth stained slightly green (unless they shoot it, that is). Long-term sopor use is really, really harmful as I’ve said - it takes a huge toll on the body, and cuts down the lifespan by several sweeps. It’s said that the harm begins with the mind, thus ”rotting the thinkpan”, and leads to memory loss and confusion.